Soil fertility map for Cameroon unveiled

Yaoundé, 13 February 2020 - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) and the OCP Foundation have officially inaugurated the project to develop a soil fertility map and a new soil and fertilizer analysis laboratory in Yaoundé. This is the achievement of the partnership agreement that both parties signed in November 2018. The agreement’s purpose is to contribute to boosting the country’s agricultural sector by strengthening technical and scientific capacities of the Ministry staff, modernizing soil and fertilizers analysis laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) and developing the soil fertility map.

The official inauguration was held this Thursday in the capital, Yaoundé, with the presence of Mr. Gabriel Mbairobe, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Cameroon, and HE Mostafa Bouh ,Ambassador of Morocco to Cameroon, as well as OCP Foundation representatives, senior government officials, national private sector representatives, and farmer associations.

Managed by MINADER with the support of the OCP Foundation, the soil fertility map project will cover two pilot areas of 50,000 hectares each in the regions of the Center and the North of Cameroon, for a total surface area of 100,000 hectares.

To this end, the OCP Foundation has provided MINADER with a mobile soil laboratory and sampling KIT composed of pick-ups and motorcycles in order to reach the remote areas for soil sampling. The OCP Foundation has also equipped the MINADER's fertilizer and soil analysis laboratory with advanced equipment and materials.

This partnership also aims to build capacity for more than 130 MINADER staff in various fields related to soil fertility and crop fertilization.

To begin, five officials and laboratory technicians of Department of Regulation and Quality Control of Agriculture and inputs were trained in Jorf Lasfar (Morocco) on fertilizer quality control. Ultimately, nine training courses will be given in Cameroon and Morocco in areas such as: soil fertility & crop fertilization, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applied to soil mapping and fertilizer quality control.

His Excellency Paul Biya, the President of Cameroon, believes in developing second-generation agriculture and recommends that a major decision-making tool, the soil suitability map, be made available to farmers. Such a tool not only facilitates judicious fertilizer use, but also gives impetus to farmers by improving the agriculture competitiveness.

This partnership is a good example of South-South Cooperation. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, on behalf of the Government of Cameroon, wishes to express his gratitude to the OCP Foundation and the Kingdom of Morocco for this significant donation. He invites private sector stakeholders, farmer associations, and agro-industry participants to reach out to MINADER to benefit from the services that will be offered.

About the OCP foundation

Registered as a public service organization, the OCP Foundation contributes to disseminating knowledge through its commitment to providing a better world for future generations. The OCP Foundation is structured around several areas such as education, training, and R&D. It pursues its commitments and implements its programs through a participatory approach with public and private partners in Morocco and in several countries of the Southern Hemisphere. This approach allows it to instil positive momentum within communities, thereby allowing the entire environment to progress towards a just and equitable future.

In addition to its projects, the OCP Foundation supports entities operating in education and knowledge, including:

• Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Benguerir: www.um6p.ma
• The Benguerir School of Excellence: www.lydex.ma
• The MAScIR Foundation: www.mascir.com
• A phosphate R&D fund

For more information, please visit: www.ocpfoundation.org